Neutral Feedback...Negative Comment !

I encourage my customers to send me their inquiries regarding an item and I try diligently to answer them.
Also, if a customer receives an item that doesn't measure up to their expectations I'd like to know. It is so frustrating to have someone leave less than positive feedback when all they had to do was send an email letting me know that they were not happy with the size, shape, color, etc. of an item and I'd try to make restitution to make them happy.

I work hard at my shop trying to give my customers top notch service, I package carefully and ship expediently; many times I run to the post office the same day for only one order. It would be far more productive if I just waited for several orders to come in and then do them all at once but I strive to be as thoughtful and as considerate as possible to each customer, so it is painful for me when a customer doesn't approach me first but instead goes ahead and leaves a less than glowing feedback.

As of date I must admit I've not had any negative feedback and only one neutral feedback, however the neutral could easily have been averted had the customer contacted me first. The item purchased wasn't as she thought it would be. They were stud pearls and I had failed to put into the description that they were Button Pearls, she thought they were full round pearls.

So, instead of emailing me to explain this, I found myself with a neutral feedback and a comment that read; "Had I known these were Button I would not have purchased them..."

Photo above...pair of 1/2 drilled freshwater peacock BUTTON pearls. Button pearls tend to be slightly flat at the bottom, this makes them ideal to epoxy onto flat pad stud earring findings. I love these little pearls and thought everyone would adore them also. I was soooo mistaken.

Photo below...Peacock pearls are known for their iridescence, these are the same pearls as above but at a different angle, bringing out the purplish tones. Top quality A to A+ grade pearls such as these normally would cost a good $3.00 a pair, I had the price and shipping low hoping to encourage multiple purchases. Well that blew up in my face!

Never mind that I was more than courteous in all my emails, I had packaged her order carefully, had included a small thank you gift and had notified her that her order had been shipped. In that notification I stated; "Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your order, please do not hesitate to contact me." I also have a full paragraph in my shop policies about refunds etc., it states that if the customer finds their item unacceptable I was happy to offer them an exchange or a refund. Why then was I not contacted first ? I would have been happy to offer an exchange or even send her a full refund but I was never given that opportunity.

I have since issued her a full refund, telling her to please keep the pearls and even sent her a "Kiss and Make Up" but so far I've heard nothing back. Perhaps she has no idea how to reciprocate, or maybe she doesn't wish to. Whatever, right now I have this one sour feedback that spoils the whole barrel as it sits where everyone can see it and I can't do much about it...well other than cry; which I have done a bit of and believe me it hasn't helped.

So what about you...have any thoughts on the subject ? Have you had any experiences like this that left a bad taste in your mouth ? How do you or would you handle a situation like this ? And why are some people so thoughtless and never think about how the other person might feel ? Or is it that they just don't care?